During an interview with Out, Silky Nutmeg Ganache reflected on her Las Vegas residency and appearance on Canada vs. the World.
Bernardo SimFrom Las Vegas to Canada, the lip sync guru of RuPaul’s Drag Race is conquering the world!
The world was first introduced to Silky Nutmeg Ganache on season 11 of Drag Race, where she made it to the grand finale. Years later, she returned to compete on All Stars 6. Despite her low placement in the season, Ganache dominated the season’s “RuDemption Lip Sync Smackdown” episode and earned herself the title of Drag Race lip sync guru.
During an interview with Out, Ganache talked about her “booked and busy” status that includes her residency on RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! in Las Vegas. More than 140,000 people have seen Drag Race Live! so far, which has had over 280 shows since opening. Recently, Drag Race Live! extended its run even further to 2023. Silky also talked about her big comeback as a competitor on Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World, which premieres this week.
Learn more information about RuPaul’s Drag Race Live!– including dates and tickets – on the show’s official website. Meanwhile, Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World premieres Friday, November 18 on WOW Presents Plus.
Out: It’s incredible that you’ve joined the cast of RuPaul’s Drag Race Live! in Las Vegas. How excited have you been about this opportunity?
Silky Nutmeg Ganache: Super excited. Not so much excited just because of the show and the opportunity, but more so excited because I get to work with my idols that I have loved my entire drag career. My idols being Latrice Royale, Alexis Mateo, Coco Montrese, Kennedy Davenport. Then you have the legendary Derrick Barry there. You also have my season 11 sisters, Kahanna Montrese and Plastique Tiara there. I’m just excited to join that [cast] more so than anything.
That’s a truly stellar cast of queens. How does it feel to perform alongside some of these queens from OG seasons of Drag Race, artists that really made their mark in the franchise?
The caliber of the show has changed since it first started a few years ago, where it has actually elevated. The wardrobe has elevated, the queens have elevated since it first started. And when I was going into dress rehearsals, I was just afraid that my garments weren’t up to par. And so I kept thinking, ‘Go bigger, go bigger, go bigger.’ And it wasn’t until yesterday when I met with Latrice, and she was just like, ‘I changed some of my garments because I saw what you brought.’ And the entire time I’m thinking, like, ‘I’m trying to be on your level.’ I didn’t realize that I had even taken it to another level that even inspired them to do more. It makes me feel very confident in going into [the show], and hopefully we’ll do more than two weeks.
This sounds like a full-circle moment that you’re having with Latrice given that you entered season 11 mentioning Latrice as one of your inspirations. Now you’re having these backstage exchanges with her as your costar.
It is a moment that I’ll never forget in my life. When I met with Latrice yesterday, I had told her how people called me ‘Baby Latrice’ and why they called me ‘Baby Latrice.’ It was because the heart that I have, the soul that I have with all of my friends and family, it resembles that of her always being encouraging. When Latrice first came out on RuPaul's Drag Race, that was the first time I saw myself on a national television screen. And to work with her, it’s just like, ‘Oh my goodness.’ And I had to tell her yesterday that one of the reasons why they called me ‘Baby Latrice’ when I first started drag was because some of her song selections… I learned her entire song selection and I performed it all. And now my makeup station is right next to Latrice.
Oh my god!
And Kennedy. And Alexis Mateo. And it’s like, ‘Wow, how have I been blessed this much to be sitting next to these girls I’ve considered my mentors,’ you know? It’s just amazing.
Since All Stars 6, you’ve been officially named the ‘lip sync guru’ of Drag Race. What can fans expect from your performances on the Vegas show?
You’re going to expect high energy. You’re going to expect beautiful costumes and hair and makeup. But most importantly, you’re going to expect entertainment, because one thing I loved about my idols that I’m working with… they were the entertainment of RuPaul’s Drag Race. And that’s what you going to expect. Good entertainment. Get your tickets at ticketmaster.com, because baby, if you ain’t got your ticket, that’s shame on you! Especially because now we are doing even more shows [on certain nights].
You are performing at Drag Race Live! on the heels of coming back as a contestant on Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World. I know you can’t give anything away about the season, but what has been the fans’ reaction to your casting this time around?
The fans have been… it’s been all over the place, honey. I’ve gone through this journey, specifically with my season 11 sister Ra’Jah O’Hara, and we’re doing this journey together, Team USA. And the fandom realizes that even though we are the girls that y’all hated, we are some of the most talented girls, and we represent you. And so, I’ve received a plethora of love. Now, also, I received a lot of uncertainty because girls didn’t understand my outfit for the promo picture. But as they say, ‘The girls that get it, get it, and the girls that don’t, don’t.’
Going into Canada vs. the World, how did you feel about being judged by your fellow season 11 costar Brooke Lynn Hytes?
I said to myself… I turned it down several times, and then a different producer would call, and I finally agreed to it because I came to the realization that if I didn’t go to Canada solely on the fact that Brooke Lynn was judging, I wouldn’t be a good sister to her, because that would mean I wouldn’t be supporting her and her endeavors. And I know Brooke Lynn would support me in my endeavors. So I went with the mindset of, ‘Let me support my sister, let me go do what I need to do, and hopefully I become a winner.’
And how does it feel to compete with Ra’Jah O’Hara on Drag Race for a third time together?
That’s my sister. We don’t compete against each other. That’s one of the things… I never competed against my sisters. Ra’Jah, A’Keria Chanel Davenport, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo. We were there. May the best drag queen win. And one more thing?
Yeah, go ahead!
Drag Race Live! has had the most season 11 girls go through it: Yvie Oddly, our winner, Vanessa Vanjie Mateo, Kahanna Montrese, Plastique Tiara, and now myself. And I feel like if we were to continue that season 11 energy and going through my dress rehearsals and how the dressing rooms are and how the drag is, I feel like A’Keria Chanel Davenport would be the next person to get on this show and do phenomenal. I think that she would be phenomenal. I know she would have all the clothes in her closet and her wardrobe because she makes everything herself. She would be phenomenal on this show.
RELATED | Shangela Made It to the Dancing With the Stars Finale & Got Support From Lady Gaga
0Silky Nutmeg Ganache Talks Canada vs. the World & Drag Race Live
0